Adjustable hinge mechanisms for doors



May 12, 1964 R. D. cHlsHoLM ETAI. 3,132,640

ADJUSTABLE HINGE MECHANISMS FOR DOORS BY& wlrLLmM I. CLEARY THEHR ATTRNEY May 12, 1964 R. D. cHlsHoLM ETAL 3,132,640

ADJUSTABLE HINGE MECHANISMS FOR DOORS Filed May 28, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIC-3.3

4 Ldv/Jl 2l INVENTORS ROY D. cmsHoLM &W\\.L|AM zr. CLEARY BY M THEIR ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,132,640 ADJUSTABLE HINGE lie/ECHANISMS FR DOORS Roy D. Chisholm and William 3. Cleary, Louisville, Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed May 28, 1962, Ser. No. 198,136 4 Claims. (Cl. 126-194) This invention relates to oven doors for use with domestic ranges and the like and particularly to a novel body-mounted adjustable hinge mechanism for the door of the oven so that the position of the door may be adjusted vertically as Well as horizontally toward and away from the front wall of the range body.

An oven cavity is formed by a box-like oven liner and an oven door. The oven liner has a bottom wall, opposite side walls, a top wall, and a back wall as well as an open front. The oven door is arranged to close the front opening in the oven liner when the door is closed. In the majority of cases it has been a general practice in the range art for many years, to mount the hinges for the oven door directly to the oven liner so as to obtain proper sealing of the door to the oven liner. This type of hinge support for the door is satisfactory for most of the standard types of ranges which are on the market today, but it is less satisfactory when the oven is designed as a high temperature oven having an automatic heat cleaning cycle as is described and claimed in the copending application of Bohdan Hurko Serial No. 27,926 which was filed on May 9, 1960, and is assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention, and now abancloned. The normal oven cooking temperatures have been between about 150 F. and a maximum of about 600 F., while in an automatic heat cleaning oven the temperatures must reach up into the range between 750 F. and 950 F. and be maintained at this relatively high temperature for a length of time suiicient to burn olf the grease and food spatter that tends to build up on the inner surfaces of the oven liner. It is important to be able to maintain the walls of the oven cavity at a substantially uniform temperature so that cool spots do not develop in any area of the walls of the oven cavity as for instance around the door opening or the door proper. It should be well understood that this need for a uniform temperature distribution is because the food soil will not be removed and a thorough cleaning job will not be performed within a reasonable time if portions of the wall are at temperatures below about 750 F.

The diiculty with the oven door being hinged to the oven liner is that the mass and conductivity or" an ovenmounted hinge mechanism results in low-temperature spots on the oven liner in the vicinity of the hinges during the heat cleaning operation. This same diiculty is not experienced when the door is hinged to the range body rather than to the oven liner. There is, however, a new problem presented of designing the hinge mechanism so that the door may be accommodated to the oven liner even though the door is mounted to the range body.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a range body with a body-mounted adjustable hinge mechanism for the oven door where the mechanism is simple to adjust so that the door will seal the oven cavity.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a body-mounted adjustable hinge mechanism for an oven door where the door is capable of both vertical adjustment and horizontal adjustment toward and away from the front wall of the range body.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an .adjustable hinge mechanism of the class described wherein the adjustment means is readily accessible for effecting the adjustment with ease.

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Briey stated, in accordance with one form of this invention, we provide a range having a hollow range body that is formed with at least a front wall, opposite side walls, a back wall, and a top wall. The front wall of the range body has a large opening in which a box-like oven liner is mounted. Heat insulating material such as fiberglass or the like is installed around the oven liner and coniined within the range body. An adjustable hinge mechanism is mounted on the front wall of the body and the oven door is pivoted to the hinge mechanism and is movable between an open and a closed position overlying the oven opening. The hinge mechanism is divided into a pair of similar units, where-one unit is arranged adjacent each side of the opening. Each hinge unit includes a vertical hinge bracket fastened to the range body and a horizontally disposed hinge support adjustably supported on the hinge bracket. One end of the hinge bracket is pivotally fastened to the body, while the opposite end is adjustably fastened to the body so that the bracket is capable of horizontal adjustment about its pivot to the body. One

end of the hinge support is in turn pivotally fastened to the hinge bracket, while the opposite end of the support is adjustably fastened to the hinge bracket so that the support is capable of vertical adjustment about its pivot to the bracket. The oven door is pivotally mounted to the outer most end of the'twohinge supports so that the position of the door may be adjusted both vertically and horizontally toward and away from the range body by the adjustment of both the hinge support on the hinge bracket and in turn the hinge bracket on the range body.

Our invention will be better understoodmfrom the following description taken in conjunction with'tl" accompanying drawings and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FIGURE 1 is a right side elevational view of a freestanding range embodying the present invention with parts broken away to show one unit of the body-mounted adjustable binge mechanism embodying the present invention;

FlGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional plan view adjacent the right side edge of the oven opening to show the hinge mechanism and it is taken on the line 2.-2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a left side elevational view of the hinge unit of FIGURE 2 taken on the lines 3 3 of FIGURE 2.E

Turning now to a consideration of the drawings and in particular to FIGURE 1, there is shown an electric range 10 having a top cooking surface 11 with a plurality of surface heating elements 12. The cooking surface 11 is supported on a hollow range body or cabinet structureV 13 in which is built an oven cavity 14 that is formed by a box-like oven liner 15 and a front-opening drop door 1.6.VV

Heat insulating material 17 is placed around the oven liner 1S for retaining the heat built-up within the oven cavity by heating means that is not shown, and'for protecting the range body 13 from excessive temperatures that might cause lire hazards when the range is located beside kitchen counters or cabinets and in engagement therewith. This insulating material 17 such as fiberglass or the like is confined around the oven liner by the walls of the range body 13.

The range body has a front wall 2t), opposite side Walls 21, a back wall 22, a top wall which is represented by the Cooktop Il and a bottom Wall that is not shown. The front wall 20 of the range body is provided with a relatively large opening 23 through which the box-like oven liner 1S is inserted into the `range body. The oven liner itself has al bottom wall 24, opposite side walls 25, a top wall 26, and a back Wall 27. The front of the oven liner 15 is open and this opening isadapted to be closed by the oven door 16. The oven liner is supported in the range body by having an outwardly-directed ilange or collar 30 around the front edge thereof that cooperates with an inwardly-turned flange 31 of a throat that encircles the opening 23 in the front wall. Tension bolts 32 at` the back of the oven liner and adjacent each side thereof are fastened between plate members 33 and the back Wall 22 of the range body so that when a nut 34 is tightened on each bolt the oven liner l will be pulled back into the range body until the'ange 30 of the oven liner is tightly held against the flange 3l of the body. A mullion heater 35 in the form of a metal sheathed heating element is sandwiched between the flange 39 of the over liner and the flange 31 of the throat of the oven opening 23 for replenishing heat lost in the vicinity of the door, but this is incidental to the present invention.

As mentioned above, the opening 23 in the front wall 20 of the range body is provided with an inwardly-directed flange 31 which encircles the inner edge of the throat of the opening. A hinge unit is fastened to the outer side of this throat adjacent the lower portion of the sides of the opening as is best illustrated in FIGURE 2. Each unit comprises a hinge bracket 4i) and a hinge support 52. The hinge bracket 40 is of elongated shape and it is vertically disposed on the outside of the flange 31 of the oven opening 23. The front edge 41 of the bracket is turned at a right angle to form a reinforcing flange 37 that lies parallel to the back surface of the front wall 2l) of the range body. The top edge of the hinge bracket 40 is fastened to the range body by a shouldered screw fastener 42 which ts loosely through the flange 31 encircling the oven opening 23 in the range body and is threaded into the hinge bracket 4G.

A second opening 43 for an oven drawer 36 is formed in the front wall 20 of the range body below the oven opening 23. This second opening is surrounded by an inwardly-turned flange 44 that is similar to the flange 31 of the oven opening 23. Accordingly, the hinge bracket 40 is connected at its top portion to the vertical side run of flange 31 of the oven opening 23, while the lower portion of the hinge bracket extends downwardly along the side of the flange 44 of the lower opening 43 in the front face of the range body. An adjustable fastening means 45 in the form of a screw fastener extends through an elongated slot 46 in the flange 44 and is threaded into the lower portion of the hinge bracket 40. These two points of support of the hinge bracket 40 to the range body 13 are supplemented by a third point of support that is established by an angle bracket 47 that is welded or otherwise fastened to the central portion of the hinge bracket and has a horizontal arm 48 that overlies the top run of the flange 44 of the bottom opening of the range body. A third fastener 49 is threaded into the horizontal arm 48 of the angle bracket 47 through a slot in the flange 44 by working through the oven drawer opening 43. Next the two screw fasteners 45 and 49 are threaded into the flange 44 of the second opening 43 in the front wall of the range body. It is possible to obtain a desired amount of horizontal adjustment of the hinge bracket 40 by loosening the screw members 45 and 49 and moving the bracket about its pivot point that is represented by the shouldered screw 42. Once the adjustment is made, the fasteners 45 and 49 are tightened to hold the hinge bracket firmly in place.

The hinge unit at each side of the oven opening includes not only the hinge bracket 4l) but an additional member or hinge support 52. This hinge support has something in common with the hinge bracket 4t) in that it is pivoted adjacent one end to a fixed member, namely, the hinge bracket and it has an adjustable fastening means adjacent its opposite end for obtaining a desired amount of vertical adjustment. The hinge bracket 40 is provided with a rearward projection 53 that originates in the vicinity of the central portion of the hinge bracket and extends rearwardly of the front of the oven and parallel to the side walls 25 of the oven liner. The hinge support 52 is generally a flat plate member that is fastened 4 to the projection 53 of the hinge bracket by means of a rivet 54 which permits a desired amount of turning action around the longitudinal axis of the rivet as a pivot point. The hinge support 52 also includes a downwardlydirected finger 39 that has a threaded opening for receiving a screw fastener 55 in the area slightly below the top run of the flange 44 of the lower opening in the range body. The ange 44 is cut away as at 56 in this area so that access may be had to this screw fastener 5S through the lower opening 43 in the range body. The hinge bracket 4@ is provided with an elongated slot 57 so that relative movement can be effected between the fastener 55 and the hinge bracket so that when the fastener is loosened the hinge support 52 may be pivoted about the rivet 54. The outermost end of the hinge support 52 is provided with a door-supporting arm 58 that extends through a slot 3S in the reinforcing flange 37 of the bracket, and carries a hinge pin 59 about which the oven door 16 pivots.

For purposes of illustration, the oven door 16 is taken as a removable oven door structure of the type illustrated in the Sherman Patent 2,873,737 which is assigned to the same assignee as is the present invention. However, it shouldV be understood by those skilled in this art that the present invention is not limited to removable oven doors, but may also be combined with a non-removable type of oven door. Because of the heavy weight of oven doors it is important to provide the door with a counterbalancing mechanism. Such a counter-balancing mechanism as here described might take various forms without departing from the scope of the present invention. This mechanism which will be described is of generally standard construction as is represented first by the hinge lever 69 thatV is made integral with the door adjacent the inner face thereof and is of generally arcuate shape. Next, a tension spring 61 is connected to the end of the hinge lever 66 for providing a biasing force tending to pull the door closed. This tension spring 61 is connected at its opposite end to a xed portion of the range body as at 62 to FIGURE 1. It is likewise important to exert a biasing force on the oven door in two special positions, one being the fully closed position of FIGURE 1 and the other being a partially open position or broil position. This extra biasing force is provided by a cantilever spring member 63 that is fastened at one end 64 to the innermost end of the hinge support 52 and is provided at its opposite end with a metal roller 65 or similar member for bearing against cam faces 66 on the hinge lever as is well understood in this art.

Having decsribed above our novel invention of a bodymounted adjustable hinge mechanism for an oven door it will be readily apparent to those skilled in this art that this meer anism is both easy to install to the range body as well as convenient to adjust while the door is in place so that the adjustment can be made accurately to iit the body-mounted door to the oven liner. With this invention the door may be adjusted vertically by loosening the screws 55 between the hinge support 52 and the hinge bracket 40 of each hinge unit and merely raising the door about the pivot points of the rivets 54 which connect the hinge support 52 to the hinge bracket 40. If the door 16 is too near or too far away from the front face 20 of the range body this can be remedied by loosening the screws 45 and 49 between the hinge bracket and the range body and pivoting the bracket about the pivot pointofi the stud 42 adjacent the top portion of the bracket until the door is in proper position. Then the screw fasteners are tightened and the adjustment is complete.

Modifications of this invention will occur to thoseV skilled in this art and it is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A domestic appliance having a novel body-mounted adjustable hinge mechanism for the door thereof, said appliance comprising a hollow body with at least a front Wall, opposite side Walls, a back wall, and a top Wall, the front wml having a large opening in which a box-like liner is mounted, -said liner having a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a top wall, a back wall and an open front, and an adjustable hinge mechanism mounted on the front Wall of the body, a door pivotally secured to the hinge mechanism and movable between an open and a closed position overlying the front opening of the liner, said adjustable hinge mechanism having a pair of units, where one unit is arranged adjacent each side of the opening, each unit including a vertical hinge bracket fastened to the body adjacent the sides of the front opening and a horizontally disposed hinge support adjustably supported on the hinge bracket, one end of the hinge bracket being pivoted to the body while the opposite end is adjustably fastened to the body so that the bracket is capable of horizontal adjustment, one end of the hinge support being pivoted to the hinge bracket while the opposite end of the support is adjustably fastened to the hinge bracket so that the hinge support is capable of vertical adjustment, the door being pivoted to the outermost end of the two hinge supports so that the position of the door may be altered both vertically and horizontally toward and away from the body. n

2. A domestic appliance supplied with a body-mounted adjustable hinge mechanism for the door thereof, said appliance comprising a hollow body having at least a iront wall, opposite side walls, a back wall, and a top wall, the front wall having a large opening in which a box-like liner is mounted, said liner having a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a top Wall, a back wall and an open front, and an adjustable hinge mechanism mounted on the front wall of the body, a door pivotally secured to the hinge mechanism and movable between an open and a closed position overlying the front opening of the liner, said adjustable hinge mechanism having a pair of hinge units, where each unit is arranged adjacent each side of the opening, each unit including a vertical hinge bracket fastened to the body and a horizontally disposed hinge support adjustably supported on the hinge bracket, the door being pivoted to the outermost end of the two hinge supports, the top end of the hinge bracket being pivoted to the body while the -bottom end is adjustably fastened kto the body so that the bottom end of the bracket is capable of horizontal adjustment, the innermost end of the hinge support being pivoted to the hinge bracket while the opposite end of the support is adjustably 'fastened to the hinge bracket so that the support is capable of vertical adjustment, whereby the position of the door may be adjusted both vertically and horizontally toward and away from the front Wall of the body, the front Wall of the body having a second vopening that is located beneath the rst opening so that the adjustable yfastening means for both the hinge bracket and the hinge support may be located adjacent the second opening in order to bring the oven door into its proper position.

3. A domestic appliance as recited in claim 2 wherein the door is provided with at least one hinge lever that is ot arcuate shape and extends rearwardly into the body, spring means connected between a portion of the body and the innermost end of the hinge lever for counterbalancing the weight of the door, and indexing means supported from the innermost end of the hinge support so there is a generally fixed relation between the pivotal axis of the door and the indexing means regardless of the adjustment of the hinge mechanism, said indexing means bearing against the hinge lever for applying a biasing force against the hinge lever when the door is in the fully closed position as well as when the door is partially open.

4. A domestic appliance as recited in claim 2 wherein each hingevbracket is provided with a stabilizing arm that is arranged perpendicularly to the bracket, and fastening means at the end of the stabilizing arm for fastening the arm to a portion of the body for obtaining rigidity or the assemblage. i

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,657,421 Polson Nov. 3, 1953` 2,677,853 Ross May 11, 1954 2,757,663 Pearce Aug. 7, 1956 f 2,776,655 Ferguson et al. a Ian. 8, 1957 

1. A DOMESTIC APPLIANCE HAVING A NOVEL BODY-MOUNTED ADJUSTABLE HINGE MECHANISM FOR THE DOOR THEREOF, SAID APPLIANCE COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODY WITH AT LEAST A FRONT WALL, OPPOSITE SIDE WALLS, A BACK WALL, AND A TOP WALL, THE FRONT WALL HAVING A LARGE OPENING IN WHICH A BOX-LIKE LINER IS MOUNTED, SAID LINER HAVING A BOTTOM WALL, OPPOSED SIDE WALLS, A TOP WALL, A BACK WALL AND AN OPEN FRONT, AND AN ADJUSTABLE HINGE MECHANISM MOUNTED ON THE FRONT WALL OF THE BODY, A DOOR PIVOTALLY SECURED TO THE HINGE MECHANISM AND MOVABLE BETWEEN AN OPEN AND A CLOSED POSITION OVERLYING THE FRONT OPENING OF THE LINER, SAID ADJUSTABLE HINGE MECHANISM HAVING A PAIR OF UNITS, WHERE ONE UNIT IS ARRANGED ADJACENT EACH SIDE OF THE OPENING, EACH UNIT INCLUDING A VERTICAL HINGE BRACKET FASTENED TO THE BODY ADJACENT THE SIDES OF THE FRONT OPENING AND A HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED HINGE SUPPORT ADJUSTABLY SUPPORTED ON THE HINGE BRACKET, ONE END OF THE HINGE BRACKET BEING PIVOTED TO THE BODY WHILE THE OPPOSITE END IS ADJUSTABLY FASTENED TO THE BODY SO THAT THE BRACKET IS CAPABLE OF HORIZONTAL ADJUSTMENT, ONE END OF THE HINGE SUPPORT BEING PIVOTED TO THE HINGE BRACKET WHILE THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SUPPORT IS ADJUSTABLY FASTENED TO THE HINGE BRACKET SO THAT THE HINGE SUPPORT IS CAPABLE OF VERTICAL ADJUSTMENT, THE DOOR BEING PIVOTED TO THE OUTERMOST END OF THE TWO HINGE SUPPORTS SO THAT THE POSITION OF THE DOOR MAY BE ALTERED BOTH VERTICALLY AND HORIZONTALLY TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE BODY. 